Pie rimming machine



Jan. 14, 1941.

Original File d Sept. 17, 1938 10 Sheets-Sheet 1 I 1941- L. J. HARRISSETAL ,2 ,5

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Jan. 14, 1941. ss ETAL 2,228,516

PIE RIMMING MACHINE Original Filed Sept. 17, 1938 10 Sheets-Sheet 5 Jan.14, 1941.

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Jan. 14, 1941 .LHARRISS ETAL 2,228,516

PIE RIMMING MACHINE Original Filed Sept. 17, 1938 10 Sheets-Sheet 9lilllll 112 11g m14,1941- LJ. HARRISS m; 2,228 516 PIE RIMMING MACHINE10 Sheets-Sheet 10 Original Filed Sept. 1'7, 1 938 fzddaim Patented Jan.14, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PIE RIllIMING MACHINE Lloyd J.Harriss, Kenilworth, and Bernard Lambers, Oak Park, 111.; said Lambersassignor to said Harriss 18 Claims.

This application is a division of our copending patent applicationentitled Pie rimming machines, filed September 17, 1938, and givenSerial No. 230,364, which matured Got. 29, 1940, into Patent No.2,219,448.

Our invention contemplates and provides a novel and advantageous machinefor rimming pies in which a pie that has been filled and provided with atop crust automatically has performed upon it the operations of dustingflour upon the edge of the pie and kneading the dough at the edge toprovide the pie with a crimped or rippled periphery.

Although this machine may be used for rimming all types of pies, itsmethod of operation is such that it is particularly adapted for rimmingpie crusts having a much larger portion of shortening than iscustomarily used without danger of the crust becoming torn, even thoughsuch pie crusts are of a very fragile texture.

In the past, the amount of shortening which could be used in a pie crustdough has been limited by the fact that pie making machinery with whichthe art is acquainted puts considerable strain upon the unbaked piecrust, thus necessitating the use of a tough dough having a relativelylow shortening content. Also, the stickiness of unbaked pie crust doughincreases as the proportion of shortening is increased.- This increasesthe difficulty of preventing dough having a large proportion ofshortening from adhering to the dough working machinery.

It is, therefore, an important object of this invention to provide anovel machine for rimming pies which puts very little strain on the piecrust, and which has means adapted to prevent the dough from sticking tothe dough Working elements.

Another object of this invention is to provide a pie machine having anovel means for forming a crimped edge upon pies.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel machine fortrimming excess crust from nated by like numerals throughout the severalviews:

Fig. 1 is .a plan View of a machine embodying our invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View of the machine shown in Fig. 1,taken in the direction of the arrows along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken in the direction of thearrows along the line 3-3 of Fi 2;

Fig, 4 is a horizontal sectional view of the machine'taken in thedirection of the arrows along the line 44 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detailed view of the crust trimming and beadforming head, shown associated with the pie carrying and liftingmechanism, illustrated partly in elevation and partly in section, withthe plane of the section taken in the direction of the arrows along theline 55 sifting mechanism and is a vertical sectional view taken in thedirection of the arrows along the line 1-1 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a horizontal sectional view taken in the direction of thearrows along the line 8-8 of 3 Fig. 7 and shows in detail the pawl andratchet step-off mechanism which actuates the flour sifter;

v Fig. 9 is a horizontal sectional View taken in the direction of thearrows along the line 9-9 of i Fig. 10 is a vertical sectional viewtaken in the direction of v the arrows along the 'line lfil0 of Fig, 3;

Fig. 11 is a horizontal sectional view taken in the direction of thearrows along the line |l--ll of Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a horizontal sectional view taken in the direction of thearrows along the line l2-l2 Fig. 13 is a developed view of the crimpingelements taken in the direction of the arrows along the line I3l3 ofFig. 2;

Fig. 14 is a horizontal sectional view taken in the direction of thearrows along the line I l-44 of Fi 2;

Fig. 15 is a developed view'of the cam which operates the pie racklifting mechanism;

Fig. 16 is a vertical sectional view taken in the direction of thearrows along the line I6-I6 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 17 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 2, but showing analternative embodiment of our machine;

Fig. 18 is a plan View similar to'Fig. 1, but illustrating thealternative embodiment shown in section in Fig. 1'7;

Fig. 19 is a horizontal sectional view similar to Fig. 3, butillustrating the alternative embodiment shown inFigs. 17 and 18; and

Fig. 20 is a vertical medial sectional view of the crimping mechanismused in the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 17 to 19.

The frame of the machine comprises a base 20, an upright central tube 22rising therefrom, and a fiat semi-circular table 24 rigidly attached tothe upper end of this tube. As shown, the base consists of fouroutwardly radiatin legs, each of which is supplied with a diagonallyupwardly extending brace 26 Welded to a solid block 21 secured to thecentral tube 22 by means of bolts 29. By this construction, the centraltube, the legs, and the bracing bars are secured into a rigid unit. Thetop plate 24 is securely bolted to a flange 28 at the upper end of acollar 30 which embraces the uppermost end of the tube 22, and isrigidly attached thereto by means of bolts 32.

The section of the tube 22 between the block 21 and the flanged collar30 carries a pair of ball bearings 38 and 40 spaced apart by a tube 42.The outer races of these bearings 38 and 40 are seated in the ends of acylinder 44, the lower end of which rests upon a ball thrust bearing 46supported by the upper surface of the block 21. Thus, the cylinder 44 isfreely rotatable about the shaft 22 on anti-friction bearings 38, 46 and46.

The cylinder 44 at a point slightly below its mid-section is providedwith six outwardly radiating arms 48 which are bolted, welded, orotherwise suitably secured thereto. The outward ends of these arms 48are suitably secured to verti cally disposed cylindrical columns 56. Ahole 52 extends centrally through each of these columns 50 and isprovided at each end with bushings 54, through which a central rod 56slides freely. A pie carrying tray 58 is attached to the upper end ofthe rod 56 by means of a set screw 6!], so that by raising and loweringthe rod 56, the tray 58 may be raised and lowered therewith. To preventrotation of the tray 58 with respect to the column 50, the shaft 56 isprovided with a longitudinally extending kerf 62 into which the end of apin or set screw 64, secured in the column 50, extends. To give the traysupporting column a finished appearance, a sleeve 66 is attached to thelower surface of the pie supporting tray 58 and moves upwardly anddownwardly over the outer surface of the block 50 as the tray 53 israised and lowered.

By means of the mechanism described above, it will be seen that thepie-holding tray 58 may be moved about a vertical axis formed by thetube 22, and that it may be raised and lowered by raising and loweringthe rod .55.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the plate 24 carries an electric motor 68belted to a speed reduction gear box Ill. This speed reduction gear boxIii may be of any suitable construction so that its output shaft I2turns at a speed of approximately 10 R. P. M. It will be understood thatother speeds may be used, but the speed given is proper for theembodiment illustrated which rims ap proximately 600 pics an hour.

The upper end of the shaft 12 is provided with a sprocket I4, theutility of which will be described presently.

The lower end of the shaft 72 extends through the table 24 and drives adrum cam 76 having a track 11 thereon. A developed View of this track isillustrated in Fig. 15. As shown in this developed view, as the track ismoved along a following roller "I8 until the roller reaches the pointmarked A, further advance of the cam quickly pushes the roller I8downwardly to the point B, while still further advance of the cam causesa gradual further depression of the roller I8 until the roller reachesthe point marked C. From this time forward, the roller is kept at aconstant level until the cam track advances to the point D, whereuponthe roller is raised to its initial level for another cycle.

The roller I8 is rotatably secured'to a block 82, which in turn isrigidly attached to a reciprocating plunger 84, by means of three screws86. The plunger 84 extends downwardly through the central stationarytube 22 and is provided at its lower end with a pair of slots 88 and 95.Opposite the slots 88 and 90, the tube 22 is cut away at 92 and 94, sothat as the cam I6 revolves, thereby raising and lowering the centralreciprocating rod 84, the slots 88 and will be open to the outside atall points in the stroke to receive the inward ends of levers 96 and 98,the purpose of which will be indicated shortly.

To prevent rotation of the shaft 84 in the tube 22, a slot Iilfl in thetube 22 and flanged collar 30, through which the block 82 extends, isfitted to the sides of the block so that the block is free toreciprocate, but is restrained against movement from side to side. Anopening I02 is provided in the tube 22 and collar 36 opposite the headof the screws 85, so that by moving the rod 84 upwardly and downwardlyslightly, these screw heads 86 may be brought into register with thishole I62 to allow assembly or disassembly of the cam followingmechanism.

, Referring to Fig. 10 in which this cam '56 is shown in detail, it willbe seen that it is secured to a central shaft I64 which is mounted on anantifriction bearing I06 carried in a central pillar I08 secured thelower surface of the shelf 24. The upper end of this shaft I M, and thelower end of the downwardly extending shaft I2 leading from the speedreduction gear box are connected by means of a universal coupling H0.

This structure enables a very rigid mounting for the cam 16, while atthe same time preventing the possibility of binding if the parts areslightly misaligned.

The upper end of the revolving tube 44 carries a disc II2 provided witha plurality of equally radially spaced slots I I4, in this instance 6,inasmuch as the machine is designed to carry 6 pies at a time. Theseslots I I4 in conjunction with a downwardly extending roller H6,rotatably secured to the lower surface of the cam I6, form a step-01fmechanism, so that with each revolution of the cam "I6, the roller H6will enter one of these slots H4 and step off the disc II2 onesixth of arevolution. Although the mechanism thus described provides for steppingoff the pie carrying trays one-sixth of a revolution around the machinefor each revolution of the cam I6, it will be seen that this mechanismdoes not provide for locking the pie racks in the several positions aswould a conventional Geneva mechanism. For reasons which will beappreciated later, we prefer to do this looking at a point remote fromthe center of the machine in a manner to be described.

The stationary block 21 carries two horizontal outwardly radiating armsH8 and I20 provided with bushings I22 and I24, respectively, at theiroutward ends to form the bearing members for vertically disposed rodsI26and I28, respectively. The radial distance of the rods I26 and I28from the center of the machine is the same as that of the pie-traysupporting rods 16. The lower end of the rods I26 and I28 arerectangular and have horizontal slots I30 and I32 on their verti- V calsurfaces, the horizontal edges of which engage the upper and lowersurfaces of rollers I34 and I36, which are secured on a horizontal axisto the levers 96 and 98, respectively. The midpoints 'of these levers 96and 98 are pivoted at I38 and I40, respectively, so that as the centralrod 84 is moved upwardly and downwardly by the cam 16, these levers 96and 98 will be rocked about their pivot points I38 and I40, therebycausing a raising and lowering of the shafts I26 and I28, respectively.

The upper ends of the shafts I26 and I28 carry lifting buttons I42 andI44, respectively, threaded thereon, so that by rotating these buttonsthey may be adjusted to different vertical positions on these shafts.When properly adjusted, the lifters are secured against movement on theshafts I26 and I28 by means of set screws I46 and I48. Although theupper surface of the lifter I42, which is positioned beneath the doughtrimming rollers to be described presently, is flat, the lifter I44beneath the crimping mechanism, also to be described later, is providedwith a socket I50. Thus, when a pie is raised beneath the crimpingmechanism, the socket I50 engages the lower end of the rod 56, therebylocking the pie-carrying mechanism against rotation until the pie isagain lowered from beneath the crimping mechanism and the socket I50disengaged from the shaft 56.

The reason that we prefer to lock the rotating pie-carrying mechanism atthis particular point is that the crimping mechanism, in performing itsoperation, requires the most accurate location of the pie relativethereto, and this being true, it appears to be preferable to lock themachine at this point rather than at the center of the machine, or atsome other one of the working stations.

It should be understood, of course, that the step-ofi disc I I2 is soplaced on the column 44 that as the mechanism is stepped off one-sixthof a revolution with each revolution of the cam 16, this step-offmechanism will properly locate the rod 56 with relation to the socketI50. In order to compensate for any slight inaccuracy in thisrelationship, the lower ends of the rods 56 are beveled in order to aidtheir seating in the socket To catch any pie crust that may fall fromthe pies during the rimming operations, a sheet metal table I52 may beprovided just above the radiating arms 48. This table is provided withholes to fit around the posts 50, and around the central member 44, androtates with the piecarrying mechanism.

The pie crust trimming mechanism, which is situated directly above theposition assumed by a pie when lifted by the rod I26, consists of avertical spindle I54 extending through a pillar I56 and journaled ateach end in anti-friction bearings I58. For convenience in assembly, thepillar I56 is made in an upper and a lower part, both of which aresecured to the table 24 by means of screws I60. The lower end of theshaft I54 has a cross piece I62 secured thereto in any suitable manner,such as by a conventional set screw, not shown. Two oppositely extendinghorizontal shafts I64 are threaded into the cross 7 piece I62, and attheir outward ends carry freely rotating pie crust cutting wheels I66,mounted thereon by means of anti-friction bearings I68. The outerperiphery of these wheels, as best shown in Fig. 5, is so shaped that asa pi is lifted beneath these cutters, while the shaft I54 is rotating,and outer lip I10 of the cutters I66 extends downwardly past the topsurface of the pie plate and cuts away the excess pie crust extendingbeyond the outer edge thereof. From the lip I10 on the periphery of thewheel I66 the curvature extends upwardly towards the shaft I64 to apoint I12, downwardly again toward the pie plate to a point I14, andthen upwardly again in the form of an 8 curve. Thus, as the pie israised beneath these rollers, and the lip I10 trims the pie crust fromthe edge of the tin, the portion I14 pushes the top pie crust directlytherebeneath, downwardly somewhat, so that it will not interfere withthe crimping mechanism which will be described presently, andsimultaneously the upwardly curved portion I12 forms a head of pie crustaround the periphery of the pie. It is this raised bead which is formedinto a crimped edge by the crimping mechanism. As seen in Figs. 1 and 2,the upper end of the shaft I '54 carries a sprocket I16 for the purposeof driving the shaft.

The flour sifting mechanism comprises a container I 18, which may bemade of sheet'metal or any other suitable material, secured in properlocation beneath the table 24 by means of slide:

rails I88 attached thereto between which an annular flange I82 attachedto the upper end of the container I18 is slid. The lower end of thecontainer I18 also has a similar flange I84. The bottom of the containerI18 is covered by afine --wiremesh I86 clamped against the flange I84 bymeans of a ring I88 secured to the flange by a plurality of screws I90substantially equally spaced around the circumference. The upper surfaceof the mesh I86 supportsa conical member I92 attached thereto-bymeans ofa circular plate I94 placed beneath the mesh and secured to the conicalstructure 'by screws I96, thereby leaving only a narrow annular ring I98of the wire mesh uncovered.

An agitator 202 extends obliquely downwardly and rests upon the wiremesh I98. A plurality of substantially equally spaced pins 204 extendradially from the lower extremity of the agitator 282 and are positionedacross the exposed portion of the mesh I98 toserve as agitating bars.These bars agitate the flour and cause a portion of it to fall throughthe wire mesh on to the periphery of the pie when the agitator 202 isrotated.

The agitator 262 is driven by a shaft 2% attached thereto and extendingupwardly through a journal 288 supported from the sides of the containerI18 on a spider 2H). The upper end of the shaft 296 lies slightly belowthe table 24 and has a kerf 2I2 extending across the end thereof. A,pillar 2| 4 is attached to the upper surface of the table 24 and has ashaft 2 iii-extending therethrough keyed to a bushing 2I8. The lower endof the shaft 2I6 is provided with a collar 220 adapted to fit over. theend ofthe shaft; 266; A

key 222 extends'across the'lowerlend ofthe shaft 2 i 6 andserves toengage the kerf 2| 2. The bushing 2 l8 ro'tates within the pillar 2 I 4vand is secured 5 thereinby a collar 223. The 'upperend of this bushingis of reduced diameter and extends through the collar 223 and isthreaded to a collar 225 which secures in place a ratchet wheel to bedescribed.

Surrounding the shaft 2I6 and extending between the upper surface of thesleeve 220 and the lower surface of the bushing 2l8 is positioned aspring 224 which tends to urge the shaft 2I6 downwardly. By means ofthis construction, the shaft 2E6 can be grasped at its top and liftedagainst the pressure of the spring 224, thereby disengaging the key 222from the kerf 2l2 and enabling the container I18 and the agitatingmechanism therein to be withdrawn from the slide [86, so that it may becleaned or refilled. After cleaning and filling, the container can heslid back into'position and the rod 2|6 lowered, thereby engaging thekey 222 in the kerf 212 so that. the agitating mechanism may be drivenby the shaft 216. In this position the shaft H6 is supported by a collar221 at its top secured theretolbyia setscrew 228. A ratchet wheel 226,previously mentioned, is keyed to the bushing 2l8 and serves as astep-off mechanism to rotate the bushing 2l8 and the agitator 262. Alever 230 is swiveled at the top of the pillar 2 I 4 on a collar 232 andcarries a pawl 234 urged into engagement with the ratchet wheel 226 by aspring 236.

Two cams 238, best seenin Figs. 2 and 16, are attached to the lowersurface of the sprocket 14 by screws 246. The outer end of thellever23!! extends beneath the sprocket 14 and is urged into contact with thecams 238 by a coil spring 242, so that as the sprocket 14 revolves, itwill twice dura 4 ing each revolution cause one of the cams 238 to bebrought into contact with the lever 230 and cause the lever to beoscillated to the. left, as seen in Fig. l. A stop, not shown, beneaththe sprocket 14 limits the inward motion of the lever 236 un- 45 der theinfluence of the spring 242. The cams 238, as shown in Fig. 16, aresupported in an offcenter position, so that the amount of throw giventhe lever 23!! as the cam moves past the lever may be adjusted .byclamping the cams against the 50 sprocket 14 in different positions. Thecams 238 should be so located on the sprocket 14 that they will causetwo oscillations of the lever 230 in the time interval during which eachof the pies is held 'stationarily beneath the flour sifter.

We prefer to use two cams, each of which rotates the agitator slightly,rather than one larger cam, since the amount of flour thus depositedseems to be more easily controllable and the mechanism more positive inits operation. It will be appreciated, however, that under somecircumstances only one cam, or more than two cams could be used.

The next revolution of the step-off mechanism H2 brings the pie on whichthe flour has been sifted to a position beneath the crimping mechanism,the axis of rotation of which is coaxial with the pie lifter I44.

As best seen in Fig. 2, the pie crimping mechanism comprises a verticalcolumn 238 mounted upon the table 24 and has a vertical shaft 240extending therethrough journaled at each end upon anti-friction bearings242. The top of the shaft 246 carries a sprocket 244 by means of whichthe mechanism is driven.

To drive the crimping mechanism as well as the'pie crust trimmer acontinuous chain 246 is linked around the sprockets 244, I16, thedriving sprocket 14, and an idling sprocket 248, which is adjustablymounted upon the table 24 in a manner well known and serves to adjustthe slack in the chain 246. Thus, as the sprocket 14 is revolved by themotor 68, it will drive both the pie crust cutting mechanism and thecrimping mechanism. The relative sizes of the three sprockets 14, I16,and 244 are adjusted so that as the sprocket 14 revolves at a speed ofapproximately 10 R. P. M., the sprocket I16 revolves at a speed ofapproximately '60 R. P. M., while sprocket 244 revolves at about 40 R.P. M. It will be understood that these relative speeds are not critical,and that wide variations may be made therefrom without impairing theefficiency of the machine. However, having been found satisfactory inservice, these relative speeds are given for purposes of illustration.

The shaft 240 extends through the table 24 and through the center of asun gear 250, rigidly secured to the under side of the table 24in anysuitable manner. For instance, as shown, the gear may be drilled andtapped, thereby using the same bolts 252 to secure both the pillar 238and the gear 250 to the table 24, as best'shown in Fig. 2.

The lower end of the shaft 240 is secured to a generally horizontallydisposed arm 254 by means of a nut 256-and key 258. One end of the shaft254 projects horizontally and at its outward end carries averticallydisposed shaft 260, the lower end of which has secured thereto ahorizontally disposed roller- 262 mounted for free rotation thereon bymeans of anti-friction bearings 264. This roller 262'is designed to bein contact with theouter periphery of the'pie plate as the shaft 260 ismovedin a circle about the axis of the shaft 248; The purpose of thisroller is to prevent the crimping mechanism, which will be describedshortly, from pushing the pie tin sideways out of the pie tin carryingrack 58.

The'opposite end of the shaft 254 from that just mentioned extendsobliquely downwardly and is secured to, or may be made integrally with,a gear case 266. This gear case 266 contains two shafts 268 and 216journaled therein on antifriction bearings. These two shafts are mountedobliquely, to-each other at an acute angle, and near the top of the gearcase 266 these shafts carry meshed pinions 212 and 214, respectively,

so that thetwo shafts will revolve together when either is turned. Theshaft 210, which is the farther removed of the two from the shaft 24!],extends vertically through the gear case and carries at its topmost enda planet gear 216 which meshes with the sun gear 256. Thus, as the shaft240 revolves and swings the gear casing 266 around-its axis of rotation,the planet gear 216 will run around the sun gear 256, and cause the twoshafts 268 and 210 to revolve on their respective axes.

The lower end of the shafts 268 and 210 carry meshed crimping members218 and 280, respectively. The configuration of the crimpers used inthis embodiment-is shown in Fig. 13, although it will be understood thatwide variations from the design shown can be made, depending upon theform of the crimp it is desired to use.

In order to prevent the pie crust from being torn' by these crimpers,the gear 250 has a pitch a diameter substantially equal to the diameterof the pie; while the pitch diameter of the gear 216 15 equal to thepitch diameter of the crimping ele- .,ment 280. By arranging the gearsizes thus, the

ISO

crimping members may be permitted to run around the periphery of the piemore than once without disturbing the crimp formed in the pie crust onthe first circuit.

To prevent dirt from entering the mechanism above the table .24 and togive the machine a neat appearance, a hood 282 of sheet metal or other.

suitable material may be placed over thisportion of the apparatus asshown in Fig. 2.

In operation, the opera-tor removes the crimped pies and replaces themby pies to be operated upon at any one or more of the three exposedstations of the machine. The pies to be operated upon then move beneaththe trimming and beadforming station where the rollers I66 revolvingaround the spindle I54 shape the pie crust to form a bead and trim thesurplus from the edge of the pie tin as previously described whenthe cam16 and its associated mechanism lifts the pie upwardly beneath theserollers. After the pie is lowered, the roller H5 steps oh the piecarrying mechanism one-sixth ofa revolution, thus bringing the pie beingoperated upon beneath the flour sifting mechanism at the next station.While beneath this station the two cams 238 on the sprocket 74reciprocate the lever 230 and deposit a small amount of flour around theperiphery of the pie on the bead previously formed. The next rotation ofthe cam 16 brings the pie beneath the crimping station Where the cam 16and its associated mechanism raise the lifter IM. This lifter engagesthe shaft 56 thereby locking the table against rotation, and lifts thepie into engagement with the crimping elements 218 and 280. The pie isheld in this lifted position for a short interval of time during whichthe crimping elements are run around the periphery of the pie and formthe crimp in the bead previously formed in the manner described inconnection with the description of the crimping mechanism. On furtherrevolution of the cam 16, the pie is lowered and the table stepped offanother sixth of a revolution, thus, bringing the pie to a positionwhere the operator can remove it from the pie rack and replace it withanother pie to be operated upon.

Ordinarily as pies come to the crimping machine they will have enoughflour on the top crust to prevent the trimming and bead forming rollersfrom sticking. After this trimming operation, however, the flouroriginally on the pie will have been kneaded into the crust, thus makingit advisable to provide the flour sifter shown. If previous operationsdo not leave enough flour on the pie to prevent its sticking to thecutting and bead forming rollers, it is advisable to use two fioursifters, one before each of the kneading stations. In ordinary use,however, we believe that the one shown and described will be suflicient.

Under certain conditions enough flour might be placed upon the piebefore the pie arrives at the first working station to prevent the crustfrom sticking to either the bead forming or the crimping mechanism. Thiswould obviate the necessity of the flour sifter in the position shownand described in the preferred embodiment.

It will be understood that another expedient for preventing stickingwould be to blow the flour onto the working elements rather thanapplying it to the pie crust, although we prefer to accomplish theresult sought in the manner illustrated and described, since it does nothave the disadvantage of making it diflicult to prevent the scatteringof flour around the room.

In the alternative embodiment of our invention illustrated in Figs.- 17to 20, the machine is provided at the crimping station with mechanismdiffering somewhat from that illustrated in the previously describedembodiment. By the substitution of this alternative crimping head, theseparate bead forming and dough trimming station may be dispensed with.The machine illustrated in Figs. 17 to 20, therefore, is similar to thepreviously described machine, with the exceptions that the crimpingheads are different and the machine shown in Figs. 1'? .to 20 lacks thebead forming mechanism and tray lifting mechanism positioned beneaththis bead forming mecha-' nism.

For convenience in referring to the figures illustrating these twoembodiments, like elements in the two machines are indicated by likenumerals, and where no difierence exists between the two machines, thedescription is not repeated.

Since the bead forming mechanism is absent from this alternativeembodiment, it will be seen that the drive chain 246' is shorter thanthe similarchain 246 in the previously described embodiment.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 17 to 20, the combined trimmingand crimping head, indicated generally by the numeral 306, consists i ofthe rota-table vertical spindle 240 journaled in anti-friction bearings242 at each end of the pillar 238. This pillar 238 is secured to the topsurface of the platform 24 in such a position that the spindle 24!] isaxially aligned with a pie on Whichever one of the pie carrying racks 58is in position to be raised by the lifting element I50.

The top end of the spindle 240 carries a sprocket.

244 keyed thereto and driven by the chain 246. Thus, this spindle 240 isin continuous rotation whenever the machine is in operation.

The spindle 240 extends through the table 2 and through the center of asun gear 362, rigidly secured to the under side of the table 24 in anysuitable manner, such, for instance, as by the same screws 3% thatsecure the pillar 238 to the upper surface of the table.

The lower end of the spindle 240 is secured to the horizontal leg of agenerally L-shaped swinging arm 336. A downwardly extending leg 308 ofthis arm carries a vertical shaft 3! journaled therein and provided atits upper end with a planet pinion 3l2 meshed with the sun gear 302.This arrangement is, in general, similar to that of the previousembodiment, but it should be noted that the shaft 3H3, as it is swungaround on the arm 306, describes a circle considerably smaller than thatformed by the edge of the pie plate, whereas the shaft 210 extendsdownwardly outside the periphery of the pie plate.

The lower end of the shaft 3H1 is provided with a beveled pinion 3Mmeshed with a beveled gear 3| 6 mounted for free rotation upon ahorizontal stub shaft 3 I 8. For convenience in manufacturing thecrimping head, the stub shaft 3l8 is shown formedas a separate piecesecured to the arm by screws 320. It will be understood, however, that,if desired, this stub shaft can be formed as a unitary portion of thearm- The beveled gear 3l6 meshes in turn with a similar gear 322 mountedfor free rotation upon an obliquely downwardly projecting stub shaft'324 formed as part of the vertical leg 338 of the arm 306. Both of thegears 3H5 and 322 are secured to meshed crimping elements 326 and 328,respectively, by means of screws 330 and 332. The gear and crimperelements are prevented from sliding axially on the stub shafts by acollar 334 secured on the outward end of the stub shaft 318 by a setscrew 336, and a washer 338 held against the end of the stub shaft 324by a screw 34!].

When the vertical spindle 243 is rotated, the crimping elements 328 and323 will run around the edge of the pie supported upon the rack 58,

much in the manner as explained in the previously described embodiment.The crimping element 326, however, is provided at its outer face with arubber ring 342 held in place by a plate 344 secured against the outwardface of the crimper 326 by screws 3%. This rubber ring 342 extendsbeyond the edge of the crimper 326 and rubs against the edge of the pieplate, as shown best in Fig. 20. The shearing action of the rubber ring342 rubbing against the edge of the pie plate serves to cut off whateverexcess pie crust dough is squeezed outwardly from between the meshedcrimping elements 323 and 326. The reason that we prefer to make thering 342 of rubber, or some other resilient material is that it betteradapts itself to working against the edges of pie plates which maybecome nicked or slightly bent. This ring also serves to take thesidewise thrust the crimping elements exert against the pie,- and itthus effectively replaces the roller 262 shown in the earlier describedembodiment.

Although We have shown preferred embodiments of our invention, it willbe understood that variations can be made therefrom, while stillincorporating the novel features herein disclosed. It will beunderstood, therefore, that the scope of this invention is to bedetermined by an inspection of the following claims.

What we claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patentof the United States is:

1. In a machine for rimming pies, a crimping head comprising meshedcrimping elements, means to revolve said crimping elements in oppositedirections, means to move the intermeshed portion of said crimpingelements around the periphery of a pie, the diameter of said crimpingelements being sufficiently small so that neither of the elementstouches the pie excepting at substantially the intermeshed portion.

2. In a device of the class described, a crimping head, a movableconveyor to carry pies beneath said crimping head, a lifting arm to lifta pie on said conveyor into engagement with said crimping head, saidlifting arm also adapted to lock said conveyor against movement whilethe pie is in engagement with the crimping head.

3. In a pie rimming machine, mechanism for crimping the edge of a pie,said mechanism comprising meshed crimping elements, means to move theintermeshed portion of said elements around the periphery of a pie,meshed pinions to drive said crimpers in opposite directions, saidcrimpers rotating on a shaft coaxial with said pie, a stationary sungear surrounding said shaft, a planetary gear meshed with said sun gear,and means to connect said planetary gear with one of said crimpingelements.

4. In a pie rimming machine, mechanism for crimping the edge of a pie,said mechanism comprising meshed crimping elements, ;means to move theintermeshed portion of said elements around the periphery of apie,meshed pinions to drive said crimpers in opposite directions, saidcrimpers rotating on a shaft coaxial with said pie, a stationary sungear surrounding said shaft, a planetary gear meshed with said sun gear,

and means to connect said planetary gear with one of said crimpingelements, the pitch diameters of the sun gear and the planetary gearbeing substantially equal to the diameter of the pie and the pitchdiameter of the last said crimping element respectively.

5. In a device of the class described having a crimping head and amovable conveyor to carry pies in succession beneath the crimping head,vertically movable pie supporting rods on said conveyor and elevatingmeans to lift said rods to bring pies thereon into engagement with thecrimping head, said elevating means telescoping said rods, therebyserving accurately to center the pie supporting rods relative to saidcrimping means and to lock said conveyor against movement.

6. In a machine for rimming pies having a top crust thereon, a. crimpinghead comprising inner and outer crimping elements, said elements beingintermeshed, means to revolve said elements in opposite directions,means to swing said elements in a circle concentric with a pie supportedtherebeneath so that the intermeshed portion of said elements travelsaround the periphery of a pie to form a crimped edge thereon, and saidinner crimping element being disposed in a plane oblique to the plane ofthe pie.

7. In a machine for rimming pies, a pie support, a crimping headcomprising inner and outer crimping elements, said elements beingintermeshed, means to revolve said elements in opposite directions,means to swing said elements in a circle concentric with the piesupport, and means to raise the pie support to bring a pie thereon intoengagement with the crimping elements so that the intermeshed portion ofsaid elements travels around the periphery of a pie to form a crimpededge thereon.

8. In a machine for rimming pies having a top crust thereon, a piesupport, a crimping head comprising inner and outer crimping elements,said elements being intermeshed to form a crimping portion, means torevolve said elements in opposite directions, rotating means to swingsaid elements in a circle concentric with the pie support, lifting meansto raise the pie support to bring a pie thereon into engagement with thecrimping elements, and the inner crimping element being disposed abovethe top surface of a pic on said support excepting at the crimpingportion, so that the intermeshed portion of said elements travels aroundthe periphery of a pie to form a crimped edge thereon without indentingthe top pie crust excepting at the periphery thereof.

9. In a machine for rimming pies, a crimping head comprising inner andouter crimping elements, said elements being intermeshed, means torevolve said elements in opposite directions, means to swing saidelements in a circle concentric with a pie supported therebeneath sothat the intermeshed portion of said elements travels around theperiphery of a pie to form a crimped edge thereon, and the diameter ofsaid inner crimping element being substantially less than the diameterof a pie it is adapted to crimp.

10. In a machine for rimming pies, a pie support, a crimping headcomprising inner and outer crimping elements, said elements beingintermeshed, means to revolve said elements in opposite directions,means to swing said elements in a circle concentric with a pie supportedtherebeneath so that the intermeshed portion of said elements travelsaround the periphery of a pic to form a crimped edge thereon, andholding means to prevent the crimping elements from causing relativemovement between the pie support and a pie being crimped thereon.

11. In a machine for rimming pies, a pie support, a crimping headcomprising inner and outer crimping elements, said elementsbeingintermeshed to form a crimping portion, means to revolve saidelements in opposite directions, r0- tating means to swing said elementsin a circle concentric with the pie support so that the intermeshedportion of said elements travels around the periphery of a pie to form acrimped edge thereon, and lifting means to raise and lower the piesupport to bring a pie thereon into and out of engagement with thecrimping elements while the crimping elements are in motion to aid inpreventing pie crust from sticking to the said elements.

12. In a machine for rimming pies, a crimping head comprising inner andouter crimping elements, said elements being intermeshed, means torevolve said elements in opposite directions, and means to swing saidelements in a circle concentric with a pie supported therebeneath sothat the intermeshed portion of said elements travels around theperiphery of a pie to form a crimped edge thereon.

13. In a pie rimming machine having a conveyor adapted to carry aplurality of pies successively beneath bead forming, dusting andcrimping stations, the combination comprising, a rotatable cam, liftingelements to elevate pies on the conveyor into contact with certain ofthe stations, one of said lifting elements adapted to lock the conveyoragainst movement when the last said lifter maintains a pie in elevatedposition, said cam. adapted once each revolution to advance saidconveyor and to actuate said lifters.

14. In a machine for rimming pies, a vertical rotatable spindle, an armsecured to the spindle and adapted to rotate therewith, a crimping headcomprising meshed crimping elements secured to said arm eccentric to thespindle, the rotating of said spindle adapted to swing said head in acircle and to rotate said crimping elements in opposite directions.

15. In a pie rimming machine, mechanism for crimping the edge of a pie,said mechanism comprising meshed crimping elements, means to move theintermeshed portion of said crimping elements around the periphery of apie, meshed pinions to drive said crimping elements in oppositedirections, said crimping elements rotating on a shaft coaxial with saidpie, a stationary sun gear surrounding said shaft, a planetary gearmeshed with said sun gear, means to connect said planetary gear with oneof said crimping elements, and a dough cutting element secured to one ofsaid crimping elements and adapted to rub against the edge of a pieplate with a shearing action as said crimping elements move around thepie.

16. In a pie rimming machine, a pair of meshed crimping elements, meansto rotate said crimping elements in opposite directions, means to passthe edge of a pie through the meshed portion of said crimping elementsto crimp the edge of said pie, and a member on one of said crimpingelements to shear excess pie crust from the edge of the piesimultaneously with the crimping operation.

1'7. In a pie rimming machine, a pair of meshed crimping elements, meansto rotate said crimping elements in opposite directions, means to passthe edge of a pie through the meshed portion of said crimping elements,one of said crimping elements revolving in a plane oblique to the planeof the pie and the other of said crimping elements revolving in a planesubstantially normal to the plane of the pie.

18. In a machine for rimming pies, a crimping head comprising meshedcrimping elements, means for revolving said crimping elements inopposite directions, means for moving the intermeshed part of saidcrimping elements on a radius corresponding to the radius of a pie, saidcrimping elements being of relatively small diameter, in order that aminimum amount of said elements may come in contact with said pie.

LLOYD J. HARRISS. BERNARD LAMBERS.

